Los Angeles Times Names Three Washington Reporters

Aug 01, 2018 | 3:15 PM

As part of the rebuilding of the Los Angeles Times, Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine and Managing Editor Scott Kraft made the following announcement.

We are delighted to announce the addition of three talented, experienced and deeply knowledgeable reporters to our growing Washington bureau – Del Quentin Wilber, Jennifer Haberkorn and Eli Stokols. They come on the strong recommendation of David Lauter, Washington Bureau Chief, to whom they will report.

Del Quentin Wilber will be a familiar byline to many Los Angeles Times readers. He previously worked in the Washington bureau as our Justice Department beat reporter before leaving to join the Wall St. Journal. Now, he’ll be returning in a new role, writing enterprise stories on criminal justice and national security. Throughout his career, including work at the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post and Bloomberg, Del has covered terrorist attacks, major trials, police corruption, the Clinton email probe and the current special counsel investigation. He is the author of two books – “Rawhide Down,” in 2011, a best-selling account of the shooting of Ronald Reagan, and “A Good Month for Murder,” in 2016, the inside story of a homicide squad. His deep sourcing in law enforcement and national security have consistently put him at the forefront of reporters in Washington, and we’re delighted to have him back.

Jennifer Haberkorn, in eight years at Politico, has won wide recognition for her mastery of the politics and policy of healthcare, covering health-related issues from abortion to Zika. Since the new administration took office, Jen has covered the repeated efforts by congressional Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which has given her extensive insight into the workings of the House and Senate leadership and the congressional Republican caucuses. She will take that hard-won knowledge and put it to work for us on Capitol Hill, covering Congress. She will give us urgently needed reinforcement on a beat that’s always hectic and could soon be even busier. And her expertise in healthcare will also add to one of the Bureau’s existing strengths as we continue to stay abreast of one of the critical public policy issues of this decade.

Eli Stokols joined the Bureau a couple of weeks ago, and we are already benefiting from his sourcing and knowledge of the Trump White House. His first assignment after officially joining the staff was to cover Trump’s trip to Europe, which ended with the president’s extraordinary meeting with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. Eli handled an extremely hectic and newsworthy series of events with flair and insight. Previously, Eli covered the White House for the Wall Street Journal and, prior to that, worked two years for Politico, where he was a lead reporter on the 2016 Republican campaign. A Southern California native and graduate of Berkeley, Eli had a dozen years of experience as a television reporter and anchor in Louisiana and Colorado before coming to D.C. as a reporter. That broadcast experience has served him well as an analyst for MSNBC, where he frequently appears.